This invention relates to blending fuel dispensers having the facility for vapor recovery and, more particularly, it concerns a combination casting providing not only first and second product inlets, a mixing chamber, and a blended product outlet, but also a separate passage arrangement providing an annular vapor recovery inlet and one or more recovered vapor outlets.
Typically, blending dispensers provide one or more intermediate grades of fuel using, for example, a blending valve to regulate the volumetric ratio of a low octane product, such as unleaded regular, and a high octane product, such as unleaded premium, so as to make available at least three grades of fuel while only requiring the use of two supply tanks and pumps. Many such blending dispensers incorporate a twin hose arrangement of either two separate hoses or one coaxial hose having an inner and outer hose connected to a single nozzle with each of the high and low grade products being supplied in one of the hoses and with the actual fuel blending occurring in the nozzle. An example of such a blending dispenser is the Wayne.RTM. Pushbutton Fixed-Ratio Blending Dispenser produced by Wayne Division of Dresser Industries, Inc., Salisbury, Md. Additional blending dispensers are described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,424,348, issued to D. W. Nelson on Jan. 28, 1969; U.S. Pat. No. 3,838,797 issued to D. W. Nelson on Oct. 1, 1974; U.S. Pat. No. 4,049,159 issued to J. A. Todd et al on Sep. 20, 1977; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,223,807 issued to R. L. Caswell et al on Sep. 23, 1980.
Conventional fuel dispensers having vapor recovery systems which remove fuel vapors displaced by the dispensed fuel usually have either separate fuel dispensing and vapor recovery hoses or a coaxial hose arrangement with, for example, fuel being dispensed in an inner hose and vapors being recovered in an annular space between the inner house and an outer hose. Examples of vapor recovery systems having separate fuel dispensing and vapor recovery hoses are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,131,142 issued to R. H. Barr et al on Dec. 26, 1978; U.S. Pat. No. 4,295,505 issued to D. E. M. Hasselmann et al on Oct. 20, 1981; U.S. Pat. No. 4,310,033 issued to E. M. Deters on Jan. 12, 1982; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,776,615 issued to R. K. Young on Oct. 11, 1988. Alternatively, U.S. Pat. No. 4,068,687 issued to R. A. Long on Jan. 17, 1978; U.S. Pat. No. 4,095,626 issued to J. W. Healy on Jun. 20, 1978; U.S. Pat. No. 4,687,033 issued to R. W. Furrow et al on Aug. 18, 1987; U.S. Pat. No. 4,827,987 issued to W. P. Faeth on May 9, 1989; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,842,027 issued to W. P. Faeth on Jun. 27, 1989, disclose vapor recovery systems incorporating a coaxial, twin hose fuel dispensing and vapor recovery arrangement.
Attempts at developing a blending dispenser with the facility for vapor recovery ended in a dispenser having a rather elaborate and unwieldy three hose arrangement of two fuel hoses and a vapor recovery hose joined to a single nozzle.
In light of the above, there is a need for an improved apparatus for dispensing blended fuels while at the same time providing for vapor recovery.